Awards 2026
SEANZ awards celebrate success and acknowledge achievement in the sustainable energy industry
The SEANZ Aotearoa Industry Awards celebrate the people, projects, and achievements lighting the way forward in Aotearoa’s sustainable energy future.
As solar, storage, and smart energy take centre stage, it’s more important than ever to recognise the excellence driving our industry. From innovation on the ground to leadership at scale, these awards showcase the best of what we do – together.
SEANZ congratulates all winners and nominees.
2026 Industry Award Winners
Sponsored by INDEPENDENT POWER - A grid-connected renewable system must be connected to the national grid and include onsite renewable generation. It may also include energy storage and load control within the system.
Winner:
Revolve Energy, Fisher & Paykel Appliances, Aotea Electric, Helrimu, Future Energy for Fisher And Paykel Appliances Global Headquaters
A ~506kWp solar installation across three buildings at Fisher & Paykel's new Penrose HQ, delivered by a five-party team.
Runner Up:
Endless Energy for Go Media Stadium
Endless Energy: delivered a major solar installation at Go Media Stadium, overcoming significant structural, logistical and environmental challenges, including helicopter-assisted work and a redesign of the mounting system to meet complex wind-loading requirements. Almost 2,000 solar panels were installed as part of the $1 million project, now generating around 60% of the stadium’s energy needs.
Highly Commended:
Ecoefficient Solutions for Hawke’s Bay Airport
Sunergise EPC Limited for Niue Renewable Energy Project Phase 2
Sponsored by Taspac Energy.
An off-grid renewable system must be completely independent of the national grid and incorporate onsite renewable generation & energy storage.
Winner:
Future Energy for Yasawa Islands Resort - Fiji
A 760kW solar + 1.6MW battery microgrid across three remote, off-grid luxury resorts in Fiji's Yasawa Islands, replacing full diesel dependence.
Runner Up:
Sunergy Solar for Hopitaly Vaovao Mahafaly Mandritsara (HVMM) in Madagascar.
A fully off-grid, three-phase solar-battery-diesel microgrid built over several stages since 2019 for a hospital in remote Mandritsara, Madagascar, serving ~300,000 people.
Sponsored by EECA
This category recognises innovative outside-the-box thinking, based on a solution or solutions that challenge traditional models & ways of doing things. Submission may be a technology solution, a process to achieve better outcomes for PV and/or BESS, a new PV-based business model, and/or a different approach to a common problem around PV installation. It should challenge existing processes or technology with the ability to be scaled & made available to the wider industry.
Winner:
Aotea Energy for their Home Battery System
Aotea Energy developed an innovative 16kWh home battery system with built-in intelligence and custom energy trading software. By also becoming an electricity retailer, they can buy and sell power on the wholesale market, selling their excess power to the grid, helping customers cut power bills by around half, save more than $2,000 a year, and target a payback of under six years. The product has achieved active commercialisation, with Aotea Energy having already deployed well over 50 smart battery systems at the time of their submission.
Runner Up:
Supa Energy for Kaikohe Bowling Club
An integrated roof-replacement + 40kW solar + 30kW battery project for the Kaikohe Bowling Club, delivered as one package with financing and AI-driven battery dispatch.
Sponsored by SMITHS
This category celebrates a business or organisation that has led the way through strategic foresight, action, and groundbreaking projects in the residential and/or commercial PV space. It honours those who have not only inspired others but also moved ahead of the curve, setting benchmarks for others to follow and driving visible change in the market. These are the leaders who shift the industry forward.
Winner:
Sunergise Group – Sunergise, PowerSmart, Clay Energy
Sunergise's consolidation with PowerSmart and Clay Energy into one vertically integrated group — now the Pacific's largest privately-owned commercial & industrial solar and storage operator.
This category celebrates a business or organisation that has led the way through strategic foresight, action, and groundbreaking projects in Utility Scale solar. It honours those who have not only inspired others but also moved ahead of the curve and set benchmarks for others to follow, driving visible change in the market. These are the leaders who shift the industry forward.
Winner:
Lodestone Energy Limited
Lodestone became the first NZ solar developer to control an entire project lifecycle — origination, design, construction, financing, operations, and retail — all in-house, via its Wakarara (Onga Road) Solar Farm JV with Centralines.
Sponsored by J. A. Russell, this category recognises business excellence within the renewable energy market segment. It celebrates businesses that have developed and grown whilst making a positive contribution to society, the industry and all stakeholders – customers, employees, and shareholders.
Winner:
Solar Ready
A Napier-based residential, business and rural solar provider (Fibre Ready / Solar Ready) focused on tailored systems and customer service.
Sponsored by Entelar Energy, This category recognises business excellence within the renewable energy market segment. It celebrates businesses that have developed and grown whilst making a positive contribution to society, the industry and all stakeholders – customers, employees, and shareholders.
Winner:
ESolar
16 years of industry experience, backed by strong supplier relationships and an honest sales approach. Highlights include being named Fronius Partner of the Year and REC Partner of the Year, ongoing training with top-tier suppliers such as REC, and delivering EECA resilience projects, including work for Nelson Tasman Hospice and local council buildings.
Runner Up:
Sunergy Solar
Highly Commended:
Northstar Technical Services
Sponsored by Rise Energy, this category recognises business excellence within the renewable energy market segment. It celebrates businesses that have developed and grown whilst making a positive contribution to society, the industry and all stakeholders – customers, employees, and shareholders.
Winner:
Future Energy Limited
Since 2020, the company has grown to 76 employees across seven regions, with 80% revenue growth in the past year and more than 5,000 installations completed. A standout achievement is the Yasawa Islands project, which took three remote Fijian resorts off diesel. The company is also investing in the future with 16 active apprentices and maintains a strong safety focus through SiteWise Green certification. Solassure certified.
Runner Up:
McKay Ltd
McKay has evolved from an electrical contractor into a specialist delivery partner for large-scale renewable energy infrastructure, delivering more than 400 MWdc of utility-scale solar since 2025. They have invested in dedicated leadership, pre-construction design and estimating capability, and repeatable quality and safety processes to manage complex projects. They are also building long-term industry capability through apprenticeships and a dedicated Direct Current Working Group.
Winner:
Al Yates
Suppliers play a pivotal role in enabling our installer members to undertake their day-to-day work. Evaluating them across supply reliability, pricing, product depth, support quality, and market responsiveness helps us see who is doing a fantastic job supporting both you and the future of the solar industry.
Winner: Hummingbird Group - as voted by SEANZ members, Hummingbird scored highly for going the extra mile for their customers with their excellent technical support and service - two years in a row!
